Checking into a new hotel room always brings a sense of excitement. The thrill of discovering your temporary home, checking out the amenities, and settling in for a comfortable stay is all part of the travel experience. However, before you get too comfortable, there’s an important precaution you should take: place your luggage in the bathtub.

At first, this might seem unusual. After all, who would think of putting their suitcase in the tub? However, travel and pest control experts strongly recommend this simple step to minimize the risk of an unwanted souvenir—bedbugs.

The Common Mistake Most Travelers Make

What’s the first thing you do when you enter a hotel room? Do you flop onto the bed to test the mattress? Peek into the minibar? Check out the toiletries in the bathroom? Perhaps you take in the view or adjust the room temperature.

Before doing any of that, most travelers instinctively place their luggage on the bed or a luggage rack. Unfortunately, this common habit could be a huge mistake. Travel and hygiene experts warn that setting your suitcase on these surfaces increases the likelihood of bringing home bedbugs.

Instead of using the bed, the carpet, or even the designated luggage stand, the best place to put your suitcase upon entering a hotel room is the bathroom—specifically, inside the bathtub.

Why the Bathtub Is the Safest Place for Your Suitcase

The simple reason is bedbugs. These tiny, persistent pests are expert hitchhikers that spread rapidly, infesting mattresses, furniture, and luggage. Hotel rooms, even those in high-end establishments, provide an ideal breeding ground for them.

According to pest control company Orkin, “Bedbugs are highly efficient hitchhikers. They can move quickly across a room and climb onto luggage or anything left on a bed or floor in just one night.” Because hotels experience a high turnover of guests, bedbugs can easily transfer from one traveler to another.

The worst part? Bedbugs are exceptionally skilled at hiding. They prefer soft, warm areas like mattresses, carpets, and upholstered furniture—exactly the places where most people tend to leave their luggage.

The bathtub, however, is a different story. Since bedbugs struggle to climb smooth surfaces, the tub provides a natural barrier that keeps your suitcase safe. Additionally, hotel bathrooms are usually cleaned more thoroughly than bedrooms, further reducing the risk of exposure.

A Travel Expert’s Approach

Entomologist Katelyn Kesheimer, Ph.D., shared her expert travel tip with Reader’s Digest:

“I always place my luggage in the bathroom while I inspect the room for bedbugs,” she says. “Once I know it’s clear, I bring my suitcase out into the main room, but I never put it on the bed—just in case. A bathroom is the least likely place for bedbugs in a hotel room since humans, their primary food source, don’t spend much time there compared to other areas.”

Following this advice can save you a lot of trouble. A single encounter with bedbugs can lead to a costly, frustrating infestation at home.

S.L.E.E.P.: A Bedbug Prevention Strategy

To avoid bringing bedbugs home with you, Orkin suggests using the acronym S.L.E.E.P., a simple method to follow when staying at hotels:

• Survey the hotel room for signs of a bedbug infestation. Look for dark, ink-like stains on sheets, mattress crevices, and box springs. Educate yourself on what bedbugs look like in all life stages—from eggs to adults.
• Lift and Look in common bedbug hiding spots, including the mattress seams, box springs, bed skirts, and nearby furniture. Also, check behind baseboards, framed pictures, and any peeling wallpaper.
• Elevate luggage away from the bed and walls. The best place to store your suitcase? Inside the bathtub.
• Examine your luggage thoroughly before repacking and once you return home.
• Place all dryer-safe clothing from your luggage in the dryer on the highest setting for at least 20 minutes when you get home. This kills any potential hitchhikers.

Extra Precautions to Keep Bedbugs Away

Even after checking your hotel room and finding no signs of bedbugs, it’s wise to take additional precautions to safeguard your belongings.

Luggage Safety

Keep your suitcase in the bathtub during your stay, not just when you arrive. This minimizes the risk of bedbugs crawling inside.

Protect Your Clothes

To further reduce the chances of bringing bedbugs home, use resealable plastic bags for packing clothes and shoes. Bedbugs can easily cling to fabric, so keeping your clothing contained prevents them from making their way into your suitcase. Also, avoid unpacking into hotel drawers or closets, as these spaces may harbor bedbugs left behind by previous guests.

Watch Out for Personal Items

Bedbugs aren’t just interested in clothing and suitcases—they can hide in books, cloth toiletry bags, and other non-metal personal items. Be mindful of where you place these belongings during your stay.

Bedbugs: Survivors in Hiding

Bedbugs are incredibly resilient. Even if they don’t find a human host immediately, they can survive for months—sometimes even over a year—without feeding. This means that if they sneak into your suitcase, they can linger there for weeks before emerging at home.

“They can go months to over a year without a blood meal, so if left in a suitcase or on clothing, they can certainly survive and infest later on when there is access to food,” Kesheimer warns.

The last thing you want is to unknowingly introduce these pests into your home, leading to an expensive extermination process.

A Simple Habit to Keep Your Home Bedbug-Free

It might feel strange at first, but placing your suitcase in the bathtub is a small, simple step that can prevent a major headache down the road. Bedbugs are more common than many travelers realize, and avoiding them takes just a bit of extra vigilance.

So, the next time you check into a hotel, resist the urge to drop your suitcase on the bed or the luggage rack. Instead, head straight for the bathroom, put your suitcase in the tub, and conduct a thorough room inspection before settling in.

This quick habit could mean the difference between bringing home wonderful memories—or an infestation you’ll never forget.

Do you have any travel tips to help others avoid bedbugs? Share your thoughts and pass this advice along to fellow travelers!